[REG] Walkin' the Dog! (Ellie + Ridley) [FIN]

[LizzyMoo]

Aque was a puller.

He was a good dog despite his issues, but whenever he had a leash attached to him, he just tended to pull for dear life, choking himself in one sense or another. The mottled Aussie was pretty much wheezing during the whole walk.

Fortunately, Ellie was a strong enough girl that his efforts didn't really pay off. It was hard with only one available arm, but she was able to reign in his efforts. It also helped a bit that the walk was longer than the usual one, causing the poor blue merle to tire out and eventually walk a bit slower so he was next to his owner's side.

Eventually the pair were in a pretty nice neighborhood. A couple of the dogs that were in this neighborhood started to bark, which caused the Aussie's ears to perk up. In turn, the dog seemed to whimper out in the manner he always did when he wanted to play.

"Uh... we ain't 'ere t'play, Aque!" the blonde said in a matter-of-fact tone. She had something tucked away in the backpack that was slung over her good shoulder that needed to be given to someone who lived in this area. However, when she saw the Pendergast residence, the girl turned in with the dog in tow to the front door. At the front step, the tomboy uttered "Aque, sit," and the dog obeyed with his tongue flopping out of his mouth with tired pants.

With that, she rang the doorbell, then followed it with a few knocked with the back of her good hand.  

[chirigami]

Heavy footsteps could be heard on the other side of the door, there was a long break before the door finally opened - as if the answerer was hesitant with opening the door. Which he was, Jasper Pendergast wasn't sure what to make of the blonde haired girl on the other side. Soliciting? Pity with a dog and a huge cast? The girl didn't seem familiar, even though she had been at their house before - with him absent from meeting her given his work.

He opened it anyways and gave Ellie a very questionable look, which could be intimidating to most people given his large stature; being a fire fighter helped in more ways than one aside from aiding people. "Can I help you?"

If she wanted to talk about Jesus or was going to try to sell him magazines.... oh, lord help him...  

[LizzyMoo]

Before the tomboy could say a word, the dog began to whine, his rump shaking back and forth on the ground due to a lack of a tail to wag. The dog's nose was sniffing a mile a minute.

The blonde tapped the dog on the top of his head with her good arm, then turned to face the man at the door frame. Ellie was a very decent sized girl, so the fact she felt a bit dwarfed at the moment meant only one thing.

"Holy sh*t yer tall. Dude... don't tell me Ridley's gonna get yer height one day!" That thought in itself was horrifying. Little Ridley growing up to be taller than the already tall Ellie. Shaking the image out of her head, the young adult continued onward.

"So... is th'kiddo 'round? One of th'kids in my neighborhood asked me t'walk somethin' over for her..." She paused again, then had to ask "Okay... so tell me... what th'hell do ya do fer a livin'?! Ya look like someone who has t'use their body fer a livin'... Or are ya jus' totally inta workin' out?"

Perhaps not the best first impression, but this was Ellie. She wasn't good at filtering her thoughts out of her conversations.  

[chirigami]

Jasper chose to ignore many of Ellie inquiries when the mention of his daughter's name came spilling out of the blonde's mouth. What did this vulgar girl want with his precious little daughter? The man could feel his overprotective nature rise in his blood as his eyes narrowed to look the girl up and down again. She was tall, maybe his eldest son's age.. but that mouth.

Well, his family hold back any better but at least they knew how to annunciation their words.

A neighborhood kid needed to drop something off, huh? The bald man's gaze shifted to the street for a moment to see how credible her story was. There were a few of the other kids playing about, but he couldn't see why any of them wouldn't just come by themselves. He would believe her for now, but would be under additional suspicion.

"She's in the back," he told her simply. "I can take whatever they wanted to give her, if that's okay with you." It was a test in the waters, to see how far her intentions went.  

[LizzyMoo]

She wasn't about to be shooed away so easily. "Um.... no... I'm one of those 'gotta do it yerself' kinda people."

Due to the sort of cast she wore, she soon enough found herself leaning it against the edge of the door. "Plus, I think both me an' Aque could use a bit of a break in all honesty... I think that was 'bout five miles we walked... an' we still got t'go back th'other direction."

The Aussie, despite his excitement, was starting to show how tired he was. He had already set himself down to laying down, tongue still flopping out of his mouth.

With a half shrug, the blonde mentioned "I'm sure if ya tell 'er that Ellie Spectre's out front... she'll know who yer talkin' 'bout."  

[chirigami]

Suspicions rose, but Jasper understood the blonde's stance on deliveries. Best ways were always to do it yourself, but he still continued to give her that look. And the name he gave her, it sounded familiar. He could recall his precious daughter complaining about someone named Ellie. Was this the girl with the bike who had been mean to her?

"I can take you around back, would be easier with that dog of yours," the man offered instead. He made a gesture that indicated he wanted her to move aside to let him through, and when she finally got it through her head and complied he pushed past her and lead the blonde to the gate on the side of the house.

Once they were around, a few cries of 'Dodger, no!' could be heard drifting from the back of the house in the recognizable voice of Ridley.

The orange haired girl was chasing after a pudgy looking beagle, she looked serious and determined while the dog looked like he was having a grand old time with the yellow object in his mouth. On the patio table behind them, close to the sliding glass doors were more yellow objects - lemons - all attached by wires. They were disarrayed from the dog snatching one of them, ruining her science project.

"Ridley," Jasper sighed, trying to get his daughter's attention, "you have a guest."

"Huh?" Ridley stopped, her hands still trying to pry the lemon out of the dogs mouth, who was still moving and trying to wrangle it free for himself again. She turned to the person behind him and blinked and then frowned, "Ellie?"  

[LizzyMoo]

Ellie easily swung herself back and out of the giant's way. "It's probably also easier fer me... cause... ya know... giant monster of a cast an' all!" Some might have been embarrassed by such an observation, but the blonde seemed to be perfectly fine about it. She had gotten over the awkwardness of it within a couple weeks, and now she was just adapted to it. She grinned a bit as she was shown to the side, tugging a droopy Aque to come along with her.

"...so... are ya a construction worker? Like a real one, not th'lazy ones that stand around on their walkie-talkies watchin' some other guy do th'work."

Yes, Ellie was still a bit stuck on what a big guy like Ridley's Dad did for a living.

The moment they were led to the back, the Aussie seemed to perk up, easily recognizing the presence of another dog. He whined a bit, as if he was asking if he was allowed to play. However, the whining got no response from the blonde. Instead, she lifted the hand that was partially wrapped with leash and waved to the orange-haired kid.

"...'sup, shortie?"  

[chirigami]

Had to give her that much, Jasper gave Ellie a simple nod to agree about her cast. It did look a little large for wear and cumbersome. So, all in all going through the back was the better idea.

He still didn't let on to what he did given how Ridley now joined them in the backyard. It wasn't for the sake of ignoring her, it was just hard to press in what he did when his little girl was now with them. Sometimes it was hard to get a word in and not make it feel out of place when the orange haired girl got going.

With Ridley's attention now with the blonde, after a passing glance to her dad and back again, this gave the beagle that she was playing tug of war with the upper hand and with one last yank he got the lemon back. The little girl gave out a small cry from the lost grip. "Aa!"

"I'll go get you some more lemons," Jasper interjected, finally moving to ruffle his daughter's hair and head back into the house, "call me if you need anything else." He gave Ellie one more stern look before disappearing through the doors.

Ridley pouted for a moment and then turned back to the blonde, her eyes narrowed a little as she looked at Ellie. "So, you're out huh?" Her hands were now on her hips as Dodger still lay at her feet, gnawing on the citrus. "And.... you have a dog?" Upon finally noticing it.  

[LizzyMoo]

Aque was loud. Very loud. Not getting the attention he wanted, he started to cry a bit louder.

"Yeah... his name's Aque..." Ellie offered, still ignoring the noises her dog was making. It was part of the rules she had read on working with a dog like this Aussie. "Parents just got him fer me recently... Rescue dog."

The stance the kid took didn't go ignored. "Look, I know yer pissed at me still... whatever... but I've got somethin' fer ya. If yer dad asks, one of th'kids in my neighborhood gave it t'ya... though it'd probably be best if yer dad didn't read what was on it."

With that, the blonde knelt down and shrugged her backpack off, sliding it down her arm and to the ground. Her foot stepped down on the edge of the bag so that she'd be able to open up the zipper easier. Even with her cast on, the tomboy still prided herself on her independence.

Idly, she mentioned as she began to dig through her backpack "...Everyone on th'team is gettin' a copy of this though..."  

[chirigami]

Gnawing on the lemon had been a nice distraction while it lasted as a whole piece of fruit. But if gave away easily to the beagle's teeth and jaw muscles and became nothing but a gooey mess, and not even an appetizing one. When the yellow fell to the grass, the tri-colored dog finally picked up on the fact there was another dog in the yard. He gave one excited bark, picking himself off the grass in almost a rolling maneuver before bounding past the little girl and to the aussie and presenting himself in a playful manner; butt in the air, paws out in front of him and a stupid happy grin on his face with that tongue lulled to the side.

Ridley chose to ignore the dogs. "Oh," she at least acknowledged. "He's ... cute," he at least was a little big fluffy. Made a lot of noise though. Well, so much for ignoring, she frowned at Dodger and then looked at Dodger to where what used to be a lemon had died and then back at Ellie.

Ellie, by this time, now had her backpack off and was digging for something. Ridley still held her frown, now with her arms crossed against her chest as she waited for what her captain intended to give her. Was she pissed? Well, yes a little bit after she had mulled it over some, but her mood had simmered down after visiting the girl in the hospital.

"Copy of what?" She asked, daring to get closer.  

[LizzyMoo]

Aque let out a playful bark, then seemed to hush the moment he had the beagle's attention. To match the other dog's gestures, the Aussie huddled low with his upper body, his whole rump shaking from side to side.

Unfortunately, he was still on his leash, she he wasn't exactly going to get to play too much. He bolted forward, but soon enough found himself only able to get about 8 feet out before his neck reminded him he was attached to something.

Ellie had managed to find exactly what she was looking for given the proper amount of time. Eventually she pulled out a colorful set of cards. Now that she had the cards at hand, she called the distracted Aussie back to her. "Aque!" The dog obediently came up to her, ears seeming to wince back out of either submission or excitement. The tomboy managed to finagle the leash off of his collar, to allow him to run around the backyard.

"So, ya remember the tournament? Well, usin' what I saw fer th'most part... I wrote these out..." Setting the cards down on her knee, she plucked out the yellow one of the set.

"Read that one out loud fer me..." Ellie held the card out for the child to take. It was the card she had written for Sailor Iris.  

[chirigami]

Dodger didn't seem to notice at first that his new companion was tethered to the new blonde girl. He playfully bounced from paw to paw as Aque came at him and oddly got more excited when the Aussie was called back. This was all too fun for the beagle, and even more when the other dog was let loose.

Dodger bounded, well waddled rather quickly, towards Aque and the two dogs were off running and playing.

Still, Ridley ignored them in favor of Ellie and nodded to her question, "yeah, ********* beat me in the first round. I was a little sad that I was knocked out so quickly and all but at least it was with ********* and we got to fight and stuff." She had heard how HugBell had a little trouble with one of her matches, being lectured again and stuff.

Of course, even as she was remembering, Ridley wasn't sure what Ellie was getting at with bringing the tournament up even after she presented a yellow card towards her. Reaching over, the little orange haired girl plucked it from the blonde's good hand and turned it over to read it out.

"Iris." She began reading aloud, slowly. "A competent fighter with stronger punches than kicks. Needs work on thinking her actions through." Ridley nearly snorted at that one. True, she hadn't seen her captain fight too many times but from the few she had, yeah. "Smack her across the head if she is patrolling...." The last few words weren't read aloud as the rest of it, even though her mouths still went over each word; even enough to be looked over a second time.

"Really? I can hit you?" Well, this seemed to cheer her up some.  

[LizzyMoo]

As the dogs played, Aque came up with a new game. "Herd the Beagle." It was quite a simple game, but it was debatable if Dodger was a fan of it.

Where as many adults might have stayed crouched down when dealing with a child, Ellie had no intention of doing such. She stood herself up as the child read the card out loud, though towards the end the child seemed to grow quiet. It was then the child asked her question, a smile seeming to crack upon her features that the tomboy allow a similar expression to form upon her own lips.

"...yeah... ya can hit me across th'head... and it has t'be a good one. Nothin' half assed. However... yer only allowed t'do that if I ain't followin' th'rules. That's important, ya know." She lofted a brow and glanced to the child, as if checking to see that she had her attention.

"If yer hittin' me when I ain't breakin' any of th'rules, then I reserve th'right t'smack ya right back."

None could ever accuse the blonde of being the best role model out there.

With a faint puff of a sigh, she then held out the other cards. "These are all yers... these are jus' starter notes written on them... ya can write whatever else ya need on there... as long as yer not puttin' down our regular names... Ya can't include that on any of th'cards... got it?"

Gold eyes drifted back to the house, as if she remembered the large man she had met at the doorway. "...All cards are there, except Victoria... but I can't write that card until after I can see what Victoria can do... And... if yer dad asks... one of the kids in my neighborhood made those cards fer ya... but it'd be best if he didn't see what was written on them."  

[chirigami]

Oh, Dodger didn't mind it one bit! He wasn't used to playing with too many dogs and the cat inside was so terribly mean to him, so "Herd the Beagle" was great!

"Aww," Ridley sighed a little from the confirmation. Given free reign to smack the older blonde would have been amazing - without consequences - but at least there was a little bit of leeway and a time for it, if it ever presented itself. The little girl couldn't put her finger on it but couldn't really easily see how Ellie was trying to make amends, but the notion was kind of in the back of her mind with all this.

The cards, though, confused her and she looked up at Ellie with big sad orange eyes, "you're giving me homework to do?" Was it bad enough that she was given it daily from school that now it was being enforced through her senshi work? That was all like, fighting and stuff! Not writing notes and stuff. "That totally suuuucks, Ellie!"

Now she was back to being mad at her captain. Sure she'd go with the excuse and all, but being given additional work was not fun!  

[LizzyMoo]

With her one good hand free, Ellie was free to ruffle her own hair in agitation as the child misunderstood what the point of the cards were for. "I... I ain't givin' ya homework!" she snapped in the child's direction. "I ain't askin' ya t'memorize these... jus' givin' them t'ya fer reference... if ya want it. Hell, fer all I care, ya could toss those cards in a box and never look at'em again."

She paused before leaning down to make sure her backpack was closed before awkwardly attempting to hitch it back up on her good shoulder. Last thing she needed to do was hitch the backpack on her bad shoulder and then have problems later getting it off of said shoulder.

"It's there if ya want it... that's all."

Blowing her bangs out of her eyes, the blonde then put her focus on something else. "...so... what's with all of the lemons? Ya tryin' t'make a combustible lemon or somethin'?"